Gentle Souls (plays)
by Nalurah
Summary: She was slammed into a wall. Before she could even comprehend what had just happened, she felt a hand like a vice around her neck. She looked into the face of her attacker, his eyes twinkled with mirth. Pairings: É/M and E/R unrequited. É/R friendship. Tags: violence, drama, death.


Hello dear reader,  
This is my first Les Misérables fanfic. I would really like some feedback on it. My apologies for any grammar mistakes, I'm not a native English speaker.  
Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: No matter how many barricades I build as a protestation, I still don't own Les Misérables.

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**Gentle Souls**

_Flight_

She was slammed into a wall. Before she could even comprehend what had just happened, she felt a hand like a vice around her neck. She looked into the face of her attacker, his eyes twinkled with mirth. The left corner of his mouth twitched up, something that always happened when he was about to do something cruel. 'What do you want, 'Parnasse?' Her voice sounded high and raspy, the hold he had around her neck was making it hard to breathe.

Montparnasse smiled and leaned forward, his mouth a mere inch away from her ear. 'Why, I want you of course, 'Ponine.' He started tracing kisses down her jawline while pulling on the gamine's rags with his free hand. 'And your father was kind enough to sell you to me for the night.' He stopped his exploration of her body and looked into her eyes. 'Now, are you going to be a good girl and behave or do I have to use force?' A cruel smile appeared on his face. 'Either way it's going to be fun.' He pressed his body against hers, pinning her more securely against the wall. 'Well for me that is.'

The cold way in which he showed his power over her filled Eponine with a rage that kindled the fire inside of her. She started laughing, Montparnasse's vice like grip made her sound high pitched and hoarse, she sounded wicked. 'Fool!' She spat at him. Montparnasse was startled by her reaction, he knew she was a Thénardier but still, she was a woman and they were easily scared. Unsure what to make of it all, he took a quick step back, releasing her from his hold. He flashed the blade hidden in his sleeve for the girl to see, hoping it would intimidate her into submission.

Eponine's laugh turned derisive. 'Do you want to kill me, 'Parnasse? Dearest papa won't be happy with that now that he's found a new way to make money of me.'

Montparnasse let out a growl, in a quick movement he created a gash in her cheek with his blade.

Eponine regarded him passively, ignoring the stinging pain in her cheek and the blood trickling down onto her tattered dress. 'You're powerless, 'Parnasse, you have no choice. You can't kill me, papa would hunt you down. He may not love me but he loves that I can earn him money.' She drew herself up to her full heigth, giving him a look of utter disgust. 'You can't have me either, I will hunt you down. Don't underestimate me, dearest 'Parnasse. I grew up with the dogs, I'm the daughter of a wolf, you can't scare me!'

She slowly crossed the distanced between them, never breaking eye contact. 'Leave,' she hissed. She could see the anger and frustration build up in his eyes.

Montparnasse pushed her to the floor and spat at her. "What do I care!' He scoffed. 'I don't want you anymore. Who could ever want you? Grew up with the dogs, you say? You are no better than a rat! No one will ever have you, no one will ever love you. You are worthless.' He aimed a kick at her stomach before swiftly departing.

She clenched her stomach but smiled through her pain, relishing in her victory over Montparnasse. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to calm herself down. She had taken a great risk in standing up to Montparnasse, but the alternative of giving in to him disgusted her.

With the back of her hand Eponine wiped away most of the blood, she was used to cuts and bruises by now, this was nothing special. Her entire body was covered in scars, a show of years of violence that started when her family had lost the inn in Montfermeil. A sigh escaped her lips as she realised what had just happened. Her father had sold her, she had become just another way for him to make money. It was just Montparnasse now but more would follow soon. Her father had taken everything. Her pride when he made her beg, her innocence when he made her steal and now even the rights to her own body. Slowly it dawned on her that she was safer out on the street than this mouldy hell that she had stopped calling home a long time ago.

She crawled onto her feet and tiptoed to the door where she shoved the bolt into its place, locking the door securely. It was a necessary precaution, her dad would soon come to find her. Montparnasse's frustration would soon subside and he would start thinking rationally again, this was when he was his most dangerous. He would want revenge, he was damaged in his pride after all, and desired for revenge. He would soon realise that the best revenge would be to send her own father after her by demanding his money back. Swiftly but silently she grabbed her oversized coat and donned her brown cap. She opened the window, wincing at the high squeaking sound it made. She quickly climbed onto the window sill as she heard multiple footsteps in the hallway. She jumped down as she heard someone pound on her door, landing silently on the soft, muddy floor of the alley right next to her house. Quickly disappearing into the shadows she made no more sound than the rustling leaves.

Eponine darted into an adjoining alley and, sticking to the shadows, hurried away from her old house. A trick she had picked up during her years of criminal activities was the ability to vanish into the darkness. Soon she found herself swallowed by the evening hustle and bustle of one of the main streets. If her father had send the Patron Minette, his gang of criminals that includes Montparnasse, after her then they wouldn´t be able to touch her here. She enjoyed the relative safety of the crowd and wandered through the streets as she repeated the evenings´ events in her head. Thoughts of what to do next, where to go and how to avoid the Patron Minette, seemed to follow each other at a rapid pace. Her mind soon became a blur of ideas and fears.

The twinkling lights of the Seine was the first thing she registered of her environment on her aimless wanderings through the city. She wasn´t scared of being alone in the dark street of Paris, she had spent many nights on the streets when her father was in a foul mood or simply drunk. However this spring night was a cold one, winter seemed to be making a last futile attempt to fight the turning of the seasons. The bells of the Notre Dame had only just sounded the ninth hour but already her breath was crystallizing as soon as it left her mouth. The slowly emptying streets of Paris at night have been her companions for years, she knew them like no other. She knew the night would grow ever colder and her coat would not be enough to keep her warm. Slowly she started walking, following the river.

Eponine caught a glimpse of herself in the window of a nearby shop. Her tangled brown hair was wet with blood from the gash in her cheek. She looked even worse than usual. She tried to make herself look more presentable until she realised that it was pointless. 'He won´t see you, no one pays attention to a shadow unless they're looking for it.' She told her reflection bitterly. She had never really been a beauty, she was no Cosette. The perfect Cosette with her golden hair, eyes as blue as the sky and a voice like a bird. This little lark had it all, a home, wealth, a loving father and the one man who had once seen her, the gamine in the shadows.

Eponine had met Marius Pontmercy a few years ago, he was her neighbour. Marius was a curious sight, she had followed him for months. She couldn´t understand that someone who obviously was born in a wealthy family would live in the slums of Paris. He was a student, that she knew, often carrying a book or two. When she had finally dared to speak to him she had asked him what book he was reading. 'You can read?' Was the astonished reply he gave her. She had given him a playful smile. 'Don't judge a girl on how she looks, monsieur, there are lots of things I know.'

This curious first interaction slowly led to a friendship. He took her to meet Les Amis at the café where they would often meet up, café Musain. Those silly boys who fought for a world that could never exist. Boys that could make her laugh with their antics and tolerated her presence.

She was nearing a familiar street, rue de la Valette, where the Musain was situated. The Musain was the cafe where Marius' friends would gather to plan the creation of the new world or to listen to their leader Enjolras. A man with such hopes and dreams for this world that he could share with such passion that she almost believed him. Almost. Perhaps she was perceptable to his ideal world because she too liked to dream of a different world.

She closed her eyes and pretended, like she had done so often when wandering the streets at night, that Marius walked beside her. He would talk to her and make her smile but most of all he would see her. For many lonely years he was the only one that could see her through the veil of poverty. Even her parents stopped seeing her after the veil obscured their view, only to be lifted when they could make use of her.

In the days before Cosette she would try her hardest to look good before going to the Musain. Not the easiest thing in the world with scars to hide and the rags for clothes. But Marius didn't see her anymore. The moment Cosette had re-entered her life, or more precise his life, she became invisible once more, only to be seen when she was of use. She tried making herself useful, delivering love letters from him to Cosette and back. Delivering those letters broke her heart but at least Marius would see her, if only for the note she was carrying.

She felt in her pocket, Cosette's latest letters filled with promises of eternal love was still hidden there. Eponine sighed as she slowly headed for the café Musain. The letter would make Marius happy. The excited smile he always gave her when she handed over Cosette's letters was all she wanted to see. The rest of the evening she could dream that the smile he gave her was because of her and not the letter.

She entered the Musain and immediately walked to the back and up the stairs. Here Les Amis had gathered for their meeting which was about to start. She glanced around the room, spotting Grantaire in the corner with a bottle of wine. She was about to join Grantaire and possibly steal his wine when a voice stopped her. 'What has happened to you?' She whirled around to see Enjolras, the fearless leader of Les Amis. This man, who so resembled the god Apollo, was staring at her with a mixture of horror and curiosity. The unusual look would have almost been comical where it not for the intrusive nature of his query.

Eponine gave him a cold look. 'I don't see how that is any of your business.'

She turned around and was about to make her way to Grantaire when Enjolras grabbed her wrist and turned her back towards him. His stern blue eyes seem to burn as he gazed at her intently. ´Something has obviously happened to you.´

Eponine stared at him for a few seconds, not sure why the marble leader of the revolution suddenly showed this interest in her. ´Why do you even care?' She couldn't hide the suspiscion in her voice.

'I fight for people like you, of course I care.' The burning passion of his dream of a better world were reflected in his eyes. He let go of her wrist as he animatedly started about his dreams for a utopia.

Eponine decided to cut him off. She has had enough of this rich boy in his fancy clothing talking about this future full of wonders like the reality was something that could be blown away by a gust of wind. She scoffed at him. 'Fight for me? How are you going to fight for that you do not know? You and your little bourgeois friends know nothing of the hardship of the poor. You're only pretending!' She felt a fire within herself kindled by the anger over the year, her frustration with her destiny.

Enjolras, though taken aback at first, drew himself up to his full height. 'I have an educated mind. I may not have lived it, dear Eponine, but that does not mean I'm not familiar with the situation.'

Eponine shoved him into a table, violence always being one of her first responses. 'You pompous fool. Fly back to Olympus where you can look down on us poor people with disdain like you always do. You may think you know the world, but all you know are the pages of your books. Have you ever experienced a day of your life without food, without a bed to sleep in,' her voice lowered to a whisper to hide the quiver in it. 'Without a home?'

Eponine whirled around and stomped away towards Grantaire, leaving Enjolras an absolutely baffled and dishevelled mess on the Floor. She nicked his wine bottle and took a swig before sighing and dropping down into the chair next to him. 'You seem to be having a good day.' The drunk had been following the conversation with great interest. There were only few he knew of that dared stand up to Enjolras, the beautiful yet terrible leader of the revolution.

Eponine grunted, not wishing to give a proper reply, instead she asked: 'how was todays' speech?'

Grantaire opened a new wine bottle, content with letting Eponine keep his old one. 'It was a beautiful show.' The drunk started with slight smirk hidden in his slur. 'Passioned words about the philosphers of old, about the rights of each man and woman, about liberty and ratio. It was quite captivating.'

'So still the same dreams, still the same illusions? A bunch of rich boys playing soldiers and politicians.' Eponine drained the remains of her bottle in one. 'Bunch of fools.'

Grantaire raised his eyebrow at her. 'You seem exceedingly bitter today, my friend. Don't tell me it's Pontmercy again?'

Eponine stared at her empty wine bottle, wishing for more of the sweet nectar to appear that could help her forget the night's events and her hopeless situation. 'No', she replied softly, 'it's not monsieur Marius.'

Grantaire seemed to be reading her mind and grabbed another bottle from his now infamous stash next to him and handed it to her. The stash had started after Les Amis started making a game of counting how often Grantaire would walk to the bar to get more wine and how long it would take him every single time. Now he just ordered multiple bottles at the beginning of the evening –or afternoon- and put them next to him. Eponine accepted the bottle with a muttering of thanks, most of her fire had gone out now as she started thinking about the reality of her situation.

From the corner of her eye Eponine could see Enjolras approaching her. He had finally managed to collect himself again and seemed ready to continue their argument. She sighed and got up. 'Time for me to go, thanks for the wine R.' She hurried out of the café before Enjolras even noticed that she had fled. Grantaire watched her go with a curious look, taking another swig of his wine as he contemplated what he had just seen.

´Where did Eponine go?' Enjolras' voice interrupted his contemplations.

Grantaire slowly looked up at him, taking his time to reply as he unashamedly stared at the leader of the revolution. 'Alas, dear Apollo, the little bird has flown. But if it's an argument you seek, allow me to point out that Marius has finally graced us humble earth walkers with his presence after soaring between the clouds.'

Enjolras whirled around and looked for Marius. He soon spotted the boy sitting at a table with a dazed smile and a worried Joly fussing over him, thinking he has a fever. Enjolras approached Marius, seemingly forgetting the matter with Eponine.

Grantaire chuckled softly and with his finger caressed the top of the wine bottle. 'Ah passion, such a fleeting temptress. A force to be reckoned with but so easily turned.' Grantaire stood up and picked up his bottle -and another one for good measure- before casually strolling out of the café. 'Now , let's see where our little bird has flown off too.'

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This story is going to be a short story which will be updated as fast as I can. Granted, that will not be very fast because I just graduated college and have now started my new job as a history teacher (and yes I do believe Les Misérables is great teaching material).

Hope you enjoy the story so far, please leave some feedback!


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